


There's a Fire in Your Chest

by Kyliara923



Category: Avengers Academy (Video Game), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - School, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-05
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2018-07-29 14:22:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7687834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyliara923/pseuds/Kyliara923
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A slowburn Stony AvAc AU story.</p><p>Enemies to friends. Friends to lovers. Civil war somewhere in between.</p><p>You don't have to play the game to read this story, but if you do play I hope you enjoy all the references and easter eggs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Make It Through the Gate

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first posted fanfic so please be patient with me. I'm looking for a beta so if you are interested please let me know!
> 
> I've been looking for a good Avengers Academy Stony story and since I haven't found a lot, I decided to write one. Most of the current AvAc characters will be included. You don't need to have played the game to follow the story, you can just imagine it as a superhero school AU. I've borrowed some dialogue and other things from the game for authenticity, but copyright belongs to TinyCo and Marvel.
> 
> More characters and tags will be added as the story progresses. I'm also insane about rereading and fixing typos/small errors so that'll happen a lot.

**Steve's POV**

The pounding in his ears is a foreign feeling. He hasn’t felt this nervous in a long time. Steve reminds himself to take deep breaths. He asks himself, what’s the worst that could happen? The thought that was supposed to be reassuring, instead sets off a scrolling list of worst case scenarios in his brain. 

“Come on, Rogers. Get it together. Get this over with” he mutters. 

Slowly, Steve forces himself to stop staring at the academy gate and walk inside. Lush green lawns spread out before him with various paths to unfamiliar buildings which, he assumes, house different training facilities. The warm early autumn air is the perfect backdrop to a campus so pristine, it looks like it could be a set for a TV show. He glimpses an arena and a target range down one path and amends his last thought: a TV show college campus meets a military academy meets...superheroes. He glances around, looking for a directory or map that will help orient him. 

“Are you lost?” A lilting English accent asks. Steve turns to find a dark haired boy with sharp features observing him, head tilted with a look of detached curiosity. 

Steve laughs and rubs the back of his neck a bit bashfully. “Kind of. I’m looking for Avengers Hall? I’m new.” He resists the urge to babble, not sure if he should say more to this boy with his cold green eyes that make him uneasy.

“Oh, of course,” the boy drawls, clearly unimpressed, “You should continue down this path, make a left at the Robo Dojo, a right at Stark Tower….why aren’t you taking notes?” 

Steve startles at the abrupt question and gives the boy a confused look in the awkward pause, not entirely sure if he’s kidding. 

“Loki, if you don’t stop torturing new recruits, I’m going to steal Fury’s eye-patch and plant evidence of your guilt for Odin to find.” A redheaded girl gives a cold smile that leaves the impression she would have no qualms with carrying out that promise. A boy with spiky blond hair is by her side, looking on with a cheeky grin. Steve jumps; he hadn’t even heard them approach. What is wrong with him today?

“Oooh, can I help?” The blond boy's mischievous grin grows wider while the redhead rolls her eyes.

“As if you have a choice.”

The first boy (Loki, Steve remembers), grits his teeth and sneers at the redhead. “Is it a crime to give directions now?”

The blond boy ignores Loki and sticks his hand out to Steve “Hi, I’m Clint, this is Nat, that idiot is Loki, and Avengers Hall is back the way you came, over by the East entrance.” Steve shakes his right hand and Clint gestures with his left, first pointing to himself, the redhead, the dark haired boy, and then down the path behind him. 

“Thanks! I’m Steve,” He replies, relieved. Loki rolls his eyes and flounces off in a huff, completely ignored by the group.

“We know,” Clint grins. “We’ve seen your file.”  
“Clint!” Nat hisses, looking exasperated. “Stop telling people about the files!”  
Clint ignores her. “Anyway, it’s nice to meet you. Welcome to Avengers Academy.”

Steve decides to stow his confusion and just roll with it. “Thanks, I have to find someone named Ms. Potts to get my schedule.” 

“Well Avengers Hall is just down that path. It’s the prestigious looking brick building with giant white columns. You can’t miss it, like we are currently missing target practice,” Nat replies with a quick kick to Clint’s shin. 

“Owww, yeah we gotta go. Good luck Steve! Say hi to Pepper for us.” and with that the strange pair are striding off quickly in the direction of the target range Steve had glimpsed earlier. He watches them for a moment before walking down the path towards where they had pointed. A few minutes later, he sees white columns that gleam with a marble sheen in the morning autumn sun. This must be the place.

Steve walks into the plush office to find a redhead in a gray pencil skirt looking very...polished is the only word that really describes her, from her impossibly flawless hair to her perfectly rounded light pink nails. She is half sitting, half leaning against the front of her desk, eyes fixed on the clipboard in her hand with a sort of set determination. Steve wonders what could be so fascinating before he realizes there is a boy standing to her right that she seems to be steadfastly ignoring.

“Pep, Peps, Peppy...Pepper, have I ever told you that you’re the Peppiest?” She shoots him an unamused look and he quickly backtracks. “I mean the Peppery-est?” Pepper rolls her eyes and looks back down at her clipboard, tapping a pen against her lips thoughtfully, as if completely engrossed in whatever paperwork she is currently holding.

“Tony, I’m not going to go to Fury for you on this. You need to put out your own fires. Quite literally this time.” She says, tucking her hair behind her ears while still refusing to look at the babbling boy. Steve takes a moment to study Pepper’s apparent nuisance. He’s shorter than Steve, but only by a few inches. His dark hair is stylishly tousled in that salon-made beachy kind of way and his warm brown eyes have a calculating, but playful look. He oozes effortless confidence in a way Steve has always envied in other people, while casually leaning in towards the redhead. Even his light stubble seems somehow carelessly stylish, perfectly groomed, and stupidly good looking. He is annoyingly handsome...and Steve should not be thinking these thoughts.

“All the literal fires HAVE been put out, now I am working on the metaphorical ones. Like the ones in your beautiful green eyes and the one burning Fury’s ass. What if, and just hear me out, what if this is not an accident, but an _opportunity?_ ”

“I know I’m going to regret asking this, but how Tony? How is you blowing up the lab an opportunity?” Pepper asks, finally meeting Tony’s gaze with a cool eyebrow arch.

“Because Stark Industries is going to donate and build a new one.” Noting her skeptical look, he cuts her off before she can interrupt, “ _With_ additional safety features that the old lab was clearly lacking. Fire suppression, for one.”

“Is Banner helping with the design?”

“Of course Banner is helping...with...the design” Tony’s tone and pauses are obviously unconvincing, but Pepper ignores that and continues her line of questioning. 

“And you’re going to consult Dr. Pym to ensure his needs are accounted for?

“Yes, yes.”

“And Fury gets final approval on it?” 

Tony grits his teeth, obviously annoyed by this suggestion. “Fine, final Fury approval. But it’ll be Stark built, no added “SHIELD” secrets.” 

Steve shifts his weight and Pepper glances up, finally noticing Steve. “Oh hello! Are you Mr. Rogers?”

Steve clears his throat and steps forward into the room, feeling awkward for lurking in the doorway. “Yes, I’m here for my…”

“Excuse me, Baby Face,” Tony says, smoothly cutting him off, holding up one finger, “But the lady and I were in the middle of something.” Steve’s mouth drops open in shock, but then quickly closes as he grits his teeth. Who the hell _IS_ this guy? 

Pepper gives Steve an apologetic look and pulls Tony’s hand down. “Please excuse Tony, he doesn’t understand that I am WORKING.” She punctuates that sentence by throwing Tony an icy glare. 

“It’s okay,” Steve replies with cool politeness, feeling a bit sorry for the woman, “I was interrupting.”

“No, actually he was just...” Pepper says at the same time Tony says “Right, so like I was..” Pepper’s stony face is enough to shut Tony down. “....just leaving. I was just leaving, because I have taken up enough your generous time,” he finishes with an impossibly charming grin. 

“Right,” Pepper agrees, gently guiding Tony towards the door. “Now say goodbye Tony.”

“Goodbye Tony.”

“That was lame, even for you.” Pepper manages to get the final word in while shutting her office door on whatever reply Tony was preparing. “I’m sorry about that. Tony’s areas of expertise do not include general tact. How can I help you Mr. Rogers?”

“I was told that I needed to report here to receive my schedule?”

“Right!” She replies, walking briskly around her desk to sit in her chair and pull open her laptop. “Let me see…” She trails off, presumably searching for Steve’s schedule. 

“Did he really blow up the lab?” Steve blurts out before he can help it. He asks himself why he even cares, feeling stupid for bringing the subject back up. He wills himself not to blush. 

Pepper hums, “Hmm….oh Tony? Yes, but that’s a fairly regular occurrence for him. It just so happens that this time, he not only ignored safety protocol, he disengaged the fire alarm, AND destroyed Dr. Pym’s ant farm. You’d think he’d stick to just blowing up Stark Tower...”

“Ant farm?” Steve asks, baffled.  
“Oh,” Pepper looks up, seeming to remember who she was talking to, “That will make more sense later. Anyway, despite Tony’s cajoling, I didn’t agree to anything, but he agreed to all of the new terms Director Fury wanted for the new lab that I worked out earlier.”

“What happens when he figures out that you had already spoken with Director Fury and he could have saved himself all of that bargaining?”

“Oh, he already knows. But Tony is Tony. And this way, Tony gets to save some face, Fury gets all the features he wanted the new lab to include, and Tony doesn’t get off scot-free.” She grabs a sheet of paper from the whining printer behind her and whips it around to him. “Here is your schedule. Please note that you have a number of independent studies courses which require you to meet with your professor or mentor on weekly basis to monitor your progress.”

Steve’s head spins. “Why didn’t the Director just ask Tony himself?”

“Because Tony would have said no.” Pepper states matter-of-factly, as if that was perfectly obvious, and hands him a small folder. “And that would have made matters worse. You’d better get going if you’re going to make your next class. This includes a map, general information about campus, and your dorm assignment. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. My door is always open.”

Steve knows a dismissal when he hears one, even if he is still trying to work through the convoluted logic puzzle just presented to him. So he rises to shake her hand and works his face into a smile to meet her wide one. “Thank you Ms. Potts.”  
“Pepper,” She corrects.  
“Right, thank you Pepper,” Steve amends, letting go of her hand and turning for the door.

A couple seconds later, Steve finds himself blinking in the sunlight, walking down the white marble steps. He pulls his schedule out and runs his finger down the list. He has already missed his first class which was one of the independent studies Pepper had mentioned. Currently, he is running late for Combat Simulation at some place called “The Robo Dojo.” He flips through the folder Pepper gave him to find the campus map, traces his finger along the path, and heads off at a jog in that direction. 

The “Robo Dojo” turns out to be a raised gray platform, surrounded by blue wall panels. Steve slows to quick walk as he approaches in order to take stock of the class as he crosses the field. 

He can see that the redhead he had met before, Nat, is there, looking bored. Near her, a perky-looking petite blonde is chattering excitedly to a dark skinned boy with curly hair who is smiling at her indulgently. Another brunet boy is standing behind her that Steve can not see at first, but then the girl shifts her weight and there he is, the same good-looking jackass from Pepper’s office. 

He shouldn't be surprised since the Academy is so small, but he can't suppress the surge of annoyance that this jerk, who doesn't think the rules apply to him, would be in Steve’s first class. The jerk is busy swiping at some sort of computer tablet, not looking up. Which is fine because Steve should ignore him and focus on more important things. The last student he can see is a prim looking brunette, standing stiffly a few yards away from the other students. Finally, Steve spots the man he assumes must be the instructor, a slightly grizzled, older man wearing a Trojan style helmet and gauntlets. Ares, Steve recalls from his schedule. Steve joins the group as Ares is apparently launching into his “first day” speech. 

“...you know me from last year, but for those who don't, I'm Ares and I teach Combat Simulation and Hand to Hand Sparring. You are allowed to use tech here, but don't bring that crap to Sparring. Make no mistake, right now, you are weak. You are nothing. Your enemies could beat you down and snatch your lunch money, but you aren't even worth their time. But if you survive my training, you will be an Avenger and Avengers cannot lose. Do you understand me?"

“Sir, yes, sir!” Comes the chorus, Steve joining in just a second late. The students’ tones vary from deadly serious to sarcastic. Ares ignores them. 

“There's a lot of ways to hurt your enemy. I suggest you learn them here. Better that than being on the receiving end. We're going to start by assessing your current skills.”

Ares glances at the clipboard in his hands. “Sam Wilson!”

The curly haired boy tears his eyes away from the blonde girl and practically snaps to attention in front of Ares. “You're up first Wings, let's see what you got.”

“Right!” Sam hustles onto the platform and the blue panel slides closed behind him. A countdown beeping starts followed by a starting buzz. At the sound of the buzzer, one of the three circular panels opens in the floor and a robot rises up, set in a fighting stance. The curly hair boy presses a button and two red and gray metal wings spring from the pack on his back. 

Sam sets himself in his own stance, braced for the fight. When the second buzzer goes off, signaling the beginning of the fight, he turns his shoulder down and charges the robot, knocking it backwards with his right wing. The robot stabilizes itself and brings its metallic fist up to swing at Sam, who whips his left wing up to take the robot’s head clean off. Just as the robot crumples, the two other floor panels open with two fresh robots. The panel beneath the beaten robot opens to reclaim the pile of metal. At the arrival of the new robots, Sam springs backwards, swinging his wings and fending them off. Steve has never seen anything like it. Sam has a decent fighting technique and he uses his metal wings to great advantage, slicing through robot limbs with ease and using their coverage as a shield to block blows. As he dismantles robots, new ones appear like a complicated game of whack-a-mole. Steve wonders what it would be like to spar with the boy while he was wearing the wings. 

Suddenly there is a loud crunching sound, and Steve snaps out of his reverie to see that a third robot had caught Sam off guard and had managed to pull a panel loose from his right wing. Steve sees Sam’s face twist with irritation as he flips the robot over his back and uses its body to take out the other two remaining robots. 

Another buzzer sounds, signaling the end of the fight. Steve can hear Sam cursing under his breath as he examines the damaged wing.

“Not bad Wings, but you shouldn't rely so heavily on the tech. That junk will fail you and then where will you be? All right, Hill! You’re up next.”

The stern looking brunette gives a brisk nod and begins to wrap her knuckles with tape. Sam rejoins the group, still worrying over his damaged wing before giving up and retracting them back into their pack. Steve makes his way over to Sam’s side. 

“That was a great fight.”

Sam glances up at Steve and smiles. 

“Thanks man! I tried. Shouldn’t have gotten that last clip. You're new right?”

“Yeah, I'm Steve” Steve extends his hand and Sam gives him a firm shake. “Nice to meet you, I'm Sam, but my code name is Falcon. You're Captain America right?”

“Yeah. Was there some sort of announcement?”

Sam laughs. “Kind of. We had an Avengers Assembly a few days ago and Fury mentioned you were being recruited. It’s a small school so newbies are always a big deal.”

“I've never seen anything like those wings before. I'm sorry they were damaged. That last robot got a lucky hit.” 

“Oh, no worries. I'll just get Stark to fix them. I may have to bribe him, but, you know, he’ll be cheap cause as much as he’ll complain, he loves getting to tinker.”

“Stark? As in Howard Stark?”

“No.” Sam shoots him a confused look, “I mean, well yeah. Tony Stark? Have you never heard of Tony Stark?”

“Oh, I think I just sort of met him in Ms. Potts’ office, but he seemed like kind of...well, kind of a jerk.” At that Sam snorts, but Steve continues, “I didn’t realize that he was related to Howard. He can fix your wings?”

“He should be able to, especially since he built them.”

“He built them? I thought SHIELD has an R&D department for its tech?”

“Yeah, he built them. SHIELD’s R&D department is good, but Stark is better. I mean he may be a douche, but he’s also kind of a genius.”

“Who’s a genius?!” The petite blonde bounces up behind them. Sam gives her a quick glance and a small smile, clearly trying not to grin. “Stark, but don't tell him that I said that.”

The girl playfully clasps her hands over her mouth in horror. “Oh my god, do not let Tony hear you. We can't afford for his head to get any bigger. Hank would have to use pym particles just so he could fit in the lab.”

At this, Sam’s smile loses some of its glow. “I don't think that's a problem since Stark blew it up yesterday.”

The blonde waves her hand impatiently and bounces on the balls of her feet. “Please, Tony will fix it. More importantly, Samuel, you haven't introduced me to your new friend!” Sam opens his mouth, to oblige her or to protest, Steve doesn't know because she doesn't even pause. “Hi, I'm Janet Van Dyne, aka Wasp, but you can call me Jan.” She shakes his hand enthusiastically and he has to suppress the urge the laugh. “Ooooh, are you Captain America? I'm so excited you're here! We’re going to have so much fun! Are you coming to Club A tonight? Oh, you have to come to Club A tonight! We have to welcome you to AvAc properly! And dance our tails off!” 

Jan can't seem to keep still as she talks and it's impossible to be unaffected by her infectious energy. Steve smiles widely back to her beaming smile. “Hi Jan. It’s nice to meet you. Everyone has been really nice so far.”

“Even Tasha? Have you met Tasha? Or Loki? Ooooh have you met Tony?”

“Sort of. What is Club A?” Steve glances at Sam who seems to have caught Jan’s cheeriness, as he can't stop smiling fondly at her. “Oh, it's a dance club. Pretty much everyone goes there to let off steam. Jan is our resident social director. Right Jan?” Sam prompts the blonde, who seems to be busy on her phone typing out a status for Facebook or Twitter.

“Social director, social media queen, legendary fashion designer, all-around badass. You know I do it all.” Jan responds while typing up a storm. Her head suddenly pops up. “Ooh can we take a selfie? I gotta add this to my snapchat!” Steve gives her a bewildered look and she cuts off his hesitation before he can voice it. 

“Please, please, please?” She pleads with a pouty look, the effect of which is somewhat ruined by her bouncing. “Ok?” 

Steve shrugs while looking at Sam for help. Sam just rolls his eyes and laughs. “It's no use trying to resist her.” Jan turns her back, leans towards them, and holds her phone out at arm's length. “Smile!” And suddenly she’s back to typing away madly. 

Steve decides to turn his attention to the brunette who is now in the ring facing off against the robots. She doesn't have any tech and it's clear that she's not superpowered, but she’s holding her own. 

“Maria would rather shoot than throw a punch. But her right hook is killer,” Sam tells him, as if reading his mind. It's also clear that she’s smart, fast, and she’s saving herself a lot of work by using the robots against each other. Even so, by the time the final buzzer sounds, she's breathing hard and wiping sweat from her brow. She gives Ares a brisk nod and exits the ring. 

Ares glances down at his clipboard. “Stark! You’re up!”


	2. Kiss with a Fist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters will alternate POV between Tony and Steve (and maybe a few guest stars).

**Tony POV**

Ok, so he blew up the lab. It wasn’t the first time. It probably wouldn’t be the last. And okay, the probability on that might be closer to certainty, but why worry about that? He has the money and resources to not only FIX it, but to vastly improve it. The explosion just made the demolition for his great new designs even easier. This all sounds perfectly reasonable to Tony.

So why is Pepper being so UNreasonable?

The redhead is currently reading some boring school report or something and completely ignoring Tony and his pleas. Or at least that’s what it looks like. But Tony can tell that she is listening. She is just waiting for him to say the right thing. 

“Pepper, you have to talk to Fury for me. He’ll listen to you. I know he’s pissed…”

“Pissed?” She repeats, sounding distracted.

“Ok, livid. Hopping mad. His remaining eyeball may be threatening to pop. But I really think we can come to an agreement on this. It was an accident and nothing that can’t be fixed, even improved...”

“Hmm, I wonder if Dr. Pym feels like his incredibly expensive and time consuming work was _improved_ by being blown up…” 

“Ugh, I know, I know. Pym is also pissed, but we can _fix_ it!” He isn’t exactly whining, but it’s close.

“ _We?_ ” She still wasn’t looking up, but her voice had shifted from faux-distracted sarcasm to caustic steel. He’d better tread carefully. Or not. 

“Pep, Peps, Peppy...Pepper, have I ever told you that you’re the Peppiest?”  
She looks up. Victory! Tony can tell he has her now, even if the look she’s giving him right now isn’t exactly friendly. “I mean the Peppery-est?” Pepper rolls her eyes and looks back down at her clipboard, tapping her pen against her lips thoughtfully, as if remembering that she needed to appear completely engrossed in whatever stupid report she had been staring at.

“Tony, I’m not going to go to Fury for you on this. You need to put out your own fires. Quite literally this time.” She says, tucking a non-existent out of place hair behind her ear. Tony knows that she is particularly enjoying being able to use that line. Especially since Pepper herself has put out some of Tony’s literal fires. Once. Maybe twice. Maybe…more. Out of self preservation, Tony resists the urge to muss her hair. 

“All the literal fires HAVE been put out, now I am working on the metaphorical ones. Like the ones in your beautiful green eyes and the one burning Fury’s ass. What if, and just hear me out, what if this is not an accident, but an _opportunity?_ ”

“I know I’m going to regret asking this, but how Tony? How is you blowing up the lab an opportunity?” Pepper asks, finally meeting Tony’s gaze with a calculated eyebrow arch. Hook, line, and sinker.

“Because Stark Industries is going to donate and build a new one.” Noting her skeptical look, he cuts her off before she can interrupt, “ _With_ additional safety features that the old lab was clearly lacking. Fire suppression, for one.”

“Is Banner helping with the design?”

“Of course Banner is helping...with...the design” And now Tony knows. She planned this. She has already spoken to Fury. She was waiting for him to play into her hands all along, knowing he would ask for her help. Damn her, why is it she always manages to outfox him? Wasn’t he supposed to be the genius? 

“And you’re going to consult Dr. Pym to ensure his needs are accounted for?

“Yes, yes.” He waves his hand dismissively. Tony knows this isn’t the real caveat; he is growing impatient and wants her to hurry through this laundry list of demands and get to the real demand.

“And Fury gets final approval on it?” And there it is. Tony grits his teeth, annoyed, but unsurprised. He had pretty much known that Fury would demand oversight. He has already been devising how to get around this “final approval.” 

“Fine, final Fury approval. But it’ll be Stark built, no added “SHIELD” secrets.” Tony has enough secrets of his own planned that Fury need not know about. And luckily, with Stark Industries doing the actual construction, Tony will be able to get away with all the tricks up his sleeve. Probably.

A figure sways in the doorway, shifting their weight, and it snaps both of them to attention.  
“Oh hello! Are you Mr. Rogers?” Tony can hear Pepper shift into her uber-professional school administrator tone and resists the urge to sneer at the intruder. An intruder that Tony would classify as tall, muscular, blond, blue-eyed, probably corn-fed, American meat. This Adonis was lurking in the doorway, probably listening to their conversation. Even annoyed, Tony is thinking somewhat unholy thoughts and pushes himself to shut that part of his brain off. Now is not the time.

“Yes, I’m here for my…”

“Excuse me, Baby Face,” Tony says, smoothly cutting him off, holding up one finger, “But the lady and I were in the middle of something.” Tony internally celebrates at the stunned look on the meathead’s face. But seriously, who interrupts a crucial negotiation?

Pepper gives the newcomer her trademark “I’m really sorry Tony Stark is such a world class ASS” look and pulls Tony’s hand down, “Please excuse Tony, he doesn’t understand that I am WORKING.” She punctuates that sentence by throwing Tony an icy glare. 

“It’s okay,” The blond replies stiffly, “I was interrupting.” Tony wonders if he’s always this uptight.

“No, actually he was just...” Pepper says at the same time Tony says “Right, so like I was..” And the look Pepper throws Tony lets him know that he’s won and if he’d like to keep it that way he should go. “....just leaving. I was just leaving, because I have taken up enough your generous time,” he finishes with HIS trademark Stark charm certified grin. 

“Right.” Pepper agrees, placing her hand on his lower back and not so gently showing him the door. “Now say goodbye Tony”

“Goodbye Tony.”

“That was lame, even for you.” She replies smoothly, but Tony catches her exasperatedly fond look as she closes the door on him and he thinks better of trying to have the last word. Through the glass of the door Tony can hear her muffled voice. “I’m sorry about that. Tony’s areas of expertise do not include general tact. How can I help you Mr. Rogers?”

Tony suppresses the laugh that bubbles up. Of course that boy next door is named Mr. Rogers. He must be the new recruit Fury was going on about at the last Avengers Assembly. What had he been doing? Oh right, Tony had been only half paying attention while he was fiddling with Nat’s widow bites. She had managed to screw up the battery pack and while it was an easy fix, Tony was trying to install a new safety panel to prevent that from happening again. 

Anyway, Fury was prattling on while Maria shot him death glares for not paying attention and...right, the new recruit was Captain America, boy wonder, superhero extraordinaire. Mr. Rogers. SHIELD's newly made super solider to be the modern 21st century Mr. America. Is there a Mr. America Pageant? There should be. Tony’s Starktech watch beeps with a reminder that if he doesn’t move, he is going to be late to class.

He jogs over to the Robo Dojo, but slows to a stroll before he gets into view. He really doesn't want to be late on his first day, God knows the last thing he needs is to give Ares any more reasons to ride his ass, but he definitely doesn't want to be seen actually _running_ to class. Bad boy slacker rep and all that. 

He sees Nat and Maria are already there, stretching to get ready for class. Overachievers, both of them. Falc is there...and oh, Jan is already there, thank god. Having her talk his ear off about all the latest gossip is a small price to pay for having someone else to gripe about this class with and appreciate his Ares jokes. He heads over to where she and Sam are standing. Jan is mid-gossip already. 

“...so I texted Clint who told me that they saw him THIS MORNING. I hope he’s in one of my classes. Oh hiiiii Tony,” she says, spotting him, “Have you heard?” 

“Probably not, but I'm sure you'll tell me.” He flashes her a charming grin before pulling out his Starkpad. He has work to do on Rhodey’s suit, no reason he can't multitask. 

Jan bounces when she’s excited so she’s practically hopping at his side now. “Captain America is _here_! He’s starting at AvAc _today!_ ” Jan isn't quite squealing, but it's close. 

“Oh that I did know,” Tony responds while pulling up War Machine’s suit schematics, “I just sort of met him in Pepper’s office while I...Ow!” Tony rubs his shoulder where Jan has just slugged him. He looks up at her angry pout and clenched fists. “What?”

“You _met_ him and you didn't even _text_ me? Jerk!” She glares at him with her fierce pouty face. 

“Easy there killer. Pepper threw me out before we could trade life stories. That was literally 5 minutes ago.” He taps his Starktech watch. 

“Mr. Stark left Ms. Potts’ office 5 minutes and 24 seconds ago” JARVIS dutifully agrees. 

“See?”

Jan looks reasonably mollified. “Well still, I should be kept informed of these things. Oooh what’s he like?” Back to bouncing, now with clapping hands. Tony returns his focus to the Starkpad. “Blond. Ripped. Boring boy next door. Nothing extraordinar...OW!” He really needs to invent something to protect his arms from Jan’s punches. He seems to have a knack for pissing her off too often and now has the bruises to show for it. 

“Stop being so judgemental!” Jan’s angry pout was back. “This is _Captain America_ we’re talking about. You have to give him a chance, Tony. You aren't even the least bit curious about him? What he’s like in person?”

“I'm curious.” Sam pipes up. “The guy is a literal living legend. How often can you say that?”

“I know, right?!” Jan is practically giddy. “We can invite him to Club A tonight to get the full AvAc welcome! Do you think he’s met anyone else? Do you think he’ll let me get a selfie?”

“Well it looks like he’s in this class so you'll get the chance to ask him.” Sam says, subtly nodding towards the path where a well-built blond was jogging towards them. Perfect running form Tony notes silently, doing his best to watch him without looking up. 

“Oh we shouldn’t stare!” Jan says, but she’s already busy updating every social media account known to man, probably talking about what a hunk the new recruit is. Tony is very decidedly NOT going to care about that. 

“So Club A? Tonight? Should I make a Facebook event? Or just a post and tell everyone they have to come? I can threaten Loki….well, maybe not Bruce. Could you ask him to come Tony? He usually lets you talk him into anything. Or do you think that would be a bad idea? All those people?” Jan is still talking a mile a minute. Tony knows the he had better start responding or else risk further retaliation.

“Sure, I can ask Banner, but he’ll probably say that grumpy Gumby won’t let him come out to play.” 

Ares strides over to face the class and clears his throat to let them know that they are on his time now. Maria shushes everyone and Tony refrains from rolling his eyes at her, but just barely.

“Alright, Listen up!” Ares barks, “I know most of you know me from last year, but for those who don't, I'm Ares and I teach Combat Simulation and Hand to Hand Sparring. You are allowed to use tech here, but don't bring that crap to Sparring. Make no mistake, right now, you are weak. You are nothing. Your enemies could beat you down and snatch your lunch money, but you aren't even worth their time. But if you survive my training, you will be an Avenger and Avengers cannot lose. Do you understand me?

“Sir, yes, sir!” Tony can’t resist his sarcastic tone. He hates this wannabe soldier crap. Luckily, Ares ignores him and carries on. 

“There's a lot of ways to hurt your enemy. I suggest you learn them here. Better that than being on the receiving end. We're going to start by assessing your current skills.”

Ares glances at the clipboard in his hands. “Sam Wilson!”

Sam manages to tear his eyes away from Jan, who is the picture of perky attentiveness, to snap to attention. Tony wonders if Sam is ever going to just bite the bullet and ask her out already. Watching this crush is getting painful.

“You're up first Wings, let's see what you got.”

“Right!” Sam heads for the platform and Tony hides behind Jan so he can focus back on his Starkpad. He half watches Sam’s fight to gauge improvements he’ll have to make to the Fighting Bots and Sam’s wings. Then a sudden metallic crunching noise grabs Tony’s full attention. Apparently one of the robots caught Sam by surprise and has damaged the right wing. Damn, that’s more work for him. 

Sam exits the ring and continues to fuss with his broken wing. Tony is about to go tell him not to mess it up any further, but Captain Wonder Bread has made his move and is now chatting with Sam about his fight. Jan also notices and does a happy little dance. “Oh look!” She not-so-quietly whispers, sounding excited, “He’s talking to Sam! We should go introduce ourselves!”

“You go,” Tony mutters back, “I’ve got better things to do.” He’s back to going through Rhodey’s schematics, but he doubts he’ll be able to concentrate.

“Ugh, you are such a baby sometimes!” She whispers back before flouncing off. Traitor. Tony wonders why it is that Jan understands the tone, but not the low volume required for whispering. 

Tony tries to get work done and while he does an excellent job of _appearing_ to be totally absorbed in his Starkpad, he is really studying his traitorous friends and their new playmate. He is definitely, definitely NOT checking out Mr. Wholesome’s winning smile or perfect ass. He just isn’t. 

He sees Jan coerce the new guy into taking a group selfie and Tony definitely does not pull up Jan’s Facebook page to check out her new post. In it, Jan is flashing her trademark Van Dyne pearly white wide smile, looking ecstatic. Sam is smiling his usual laidback smile.The guy pulls off nonchalance well. Steve is smiling an embarrassed, bashful smile that is not super cute. It’s definitely not. The post reads “Look who I just met! AvAc’s newest recruit and resident cutie! Who all is coming to Club A tonight with me to welcome Captain America?” followed by a string of emojis. The picture already has a few likes and Kamala has already chimed in to say she’ll definitely be there. Tony imagines that she is probably fangirling her little heart out and he smiles at the thought. 

Maria is ruthlessly efficient in the ring as always and Tony keeps an eye out for how his robots do against a non-superpowered or tech equipped fighter. Maria would sooner slit his throat than hear him say anything about dialing back their power, but Tony would prefer not to kill anyone, even remotely through his engineering. 

The final buzzer goes off and Maria gives Ares a brisk nod before she exits the ring. Tony can see the bruises forming on her hands and wonders if she would accept gloves designed to protect her hands in a fight. They wouldn’t have to be tech heavy, something light, but efficient. He could even have Jan help him design them so that Maria would like the style...

“Stark! You’re up.” Ares voice cuts through Tony’s rambling thoughts and he is stunned for a moment when everyone turns to look at him. Right, his turn. He can do this. 

Tony flashes everyone a confident smirk. He straps on his Iron Man gauntlets as he walks up to the platform stairs. Thank god he’s allowed to use tech in this class. The gauntlets are just part of the Iron Man suit, they cover him just up to the elbow, and allow him to use his repulsors. 

After he takes his place in the ring, the countdown beeping starts, and he can feels his palms start to sweat. The first robot pops up and he throws a repulsor blast. Two more appear and again he blasts them away. Then they start coming faster. He parries away one robot’s swinging fist with his right hand and pulls his left to blast the other. He sets into a rhythm of ducking and blocking and tossing repulsor blasts. He doesn’t always dodge the blows; they catch him in the ribs and arms here and there, but he just responds with repulsor blasts. He’s starting to feel bruised and a little winded, but he doesn’t think he’s doing badly. Occasionally, he throws his audience a cocky smile, just to try to make it look easy. 

Then Tony turns and raises his hand to send repulsor blast into one robot’s featureless face. The repulsor whines and whirs, but nothing happens. Suddenly Tony tastes blood. The metal fist lands a solid blow, splitting his lip, and for a second he sees stars. His ears are ringing, but he thinks he hears Jan call his name.

“Fuck.” He spits the curse and a spray of blood onto the platform before clenching his fist and punching his attacker hard enough to send it crashing into a blue panel wall in a shower of sparks. He turns just as the last robot is swinging on him. He dodges to the right and grabs the robot by the head, slamming into the wall behind him. The final buzzer beeps and he disengages his gauntlets. 

Ares gives Tony a sneering look. “That was one of the worst fights I’ve ever seen. You have no one but yourself to blame for that bruiser. Keep your guard up. Stop relying so much on that TECH!”

Ares turns to face the rest of the class. “You all should learn from watching each other. This class isn’t supposed to be EASY. This class is supposed to rip you apart and put you back together. I will make you cry. I will make you bleed. But I will also make you better. Understood?”

“Understood,” the class answers back.

SAY IT LIKE YOU MEAN IT!

“UNDERSTOOD!”

Ares claps his hands. “Okay we’re done for today. Rogers, Widow, and Wasp will have their turn next class period. Don’t forget to log your weekly hours for independent training! 4 hours a week is the minimum, but I’d better see more! You can book time here or in the Arena of War. You all have potential, but you also have a lot of work to do.” 

With that, they are all dismissed. Jan runs up to Tony and dabs the blood from his chin. “I’m fine, really, Jan, stop.”

“You need to be more careful, you idiot,” Jan responds, tossing the cloth at him, but her tone doesn’t have any bite.  
“Well you know, I’m more of lover than a fighter.” He winks at her and wipes his mouth with his sleeve.  
“Don’t get saucy with me, Anthony Stark,” She warns with a smile. Sam and Steve wander over. 

“You ok, Stark? That looked like a rough knock.” Sam’s tone is much less sympathetic.  
Tony scoffs, “Pssh, a love tap maybe,” and gives him a cocky grin even though his split lip stings.  
Jan sighs and rolls her eyes. “Whatever happened to romance? Anyway, I have to go. I have to go see Hank for chemistry in the lab _you blew up._ So you’d better be coming out to Club A tonight. No excuses.”

“I will be there Queen Bee, I promise.” Tony holds his hand up as if taking a solemn oath.  
“Yay!” Jan kisses his cheek and grabs Sam’s arm. “So excited! See you both tonight!” She salutes Steve and Tony as she drags Sam off. Tony’s pretty sure Sam doesn’t have chemistry, but he’d be willing to bet that Sam is going to walk Jan to class anyway. Tony dabs the last of the blood off his lip with the corner of his sleeve and sneaks a glance at Steve who seems to be in his own world. 

“So you’re Captain America, huh?” Smooth Tony, real smooth. But Tony’s idiotic question seems to snap Steve out of his reverie. “Huh? Oh yeah. I think we sort of met earlier. You’re Tony Stark?”

Tony chuckles. “Has Jan been giving you my resume?”

“No, not really, it’s just...I knew Howard.”

Tony’s teeth start to grind involuntarily at the mention of his father. And holy shit. This is the _real_ Captain America. The realization hits him and he feels like an idiot. The Captain America his dad idolized and would not stop talking about when he was a kid. When Fury was talking about the new Captain America recruit, Tony had thought they had just gotten someone new to take up the shield, created some new super solider. He didn’t think the rumors about SHIELD thawing out the real frozen Capsicle were true, but apparently Steve Rogers was the living proof standing in front of him.

“Yeah, well, I’m not my dad.” He responds, his tone harsher than he intends. 

“What?” Steve looks confused. 

“You were pals with Howard right? Well, I’m not him. The late, great genius Howard Stark, visionary extraordinaire. He’s gone and _I_ am not him. Sorry to disappoint.”

Steve pales and set his jaw, as if Tony has hit him. “Well, it was nice meeting you. I need to get to my next class,” he clips out, his tone cold. And with that, he’s gone, striding down the path. Tony groans as he runs his hands through his hair in frustration. How else could he screw up this day?


	3. My Ancient Mars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My goal is to post at least one if not two chapters a week. All the chapter titles are song lyrics (but I promise this will not turn into a songfic). If you want to sleuth them out, you can put together a Stony playlist. I'm still looking for a beta so if you're interested, please let me know.

**Steve's POV**

Steve watches the Jerk flash a cocky self-sure smirk at the class and stroll up the platform stairs. Now that he knows that this is Howard’s son, the resemblance seems so obvious. Steve can see him putting on some kind of metal gloves that seem to snap into place. The countdown beeping starts and Tony doesn’t assume any kind of fighting stance. What is he doing?

And then the first robot appears. Tony holds his hand up and shoots some kind of blast from his palm at the robot. As the fight goes on, it’s clear that he is not well trained, but that he does a lot of thinking on his feet. His blasting gloves (Steve isn’t sure what to call them) give him a clear advantage, but he’s still taking body and arm blows. 

The way he’s dancing around and throwing the other students these overconfident smiles makes Steve almost wish a robot would knock him on his ass. Not hard, just to take him down a peg or two. But Tony is ducking and dodging fairly well, using his blasters to slice through the robots when suddenly his glove makes a high pitched whine and fails to shoot. He takes a hard hit to the mouth. Steve’s own mouth twists, as if feeling phantom sympathy pain. To Steve’s right, Jan gasps in surprise as her hands fly up to cover her mouth. 

“Tony!” She calls out. But Tony just spits out some blood and foul language, before turning around to clean that robot’s clock. Steve feels guilty for having wished he would get hit. He watches as Tony crushes the last robot’s head into the wall and exits the ring. Jan sprints over to him while Sam and Steve follow slowly behind. Even from a distance, he sees the soft, fond look Tony gives Jan as she wipes blood from his lip and wonders if maybe he has Tony all wrong.

“Well you know, I’m more of lover than a fighter.” Even from a distance, Steve’s serum-enhanced hearing catches Tony’s flirty quip.

“Don’t get saucy with me, Anthony Stark,” Steve hears Jan say as Tony wipes more blood from his lip.

“You ok, Stark? That looked like a rough knock.” Sam asks and Tony scoffs, “Pssh, a love tap maybe.” Steve can’t decide if that cocky smile is endearing or infuriating. Also, does Tony always flirt this much, with everyone? 

Jan sighs and rolls her eyes. “Whatever happened to romance? Anyway, I have to go. I have to go see Hank for chemistry in the lab _you blew up._ So you’d better be coming out to Club A tonight. No excuses.”

“I will be there Queen Bee, I promise,” Tony promises, holding his hand up as if swearing a binding vow. 

“Yay!” Jan kisses Tony’s cheek and grabs Sam’s arm. “So excited. See you both tonight!” She salutes Steve and Tony as she drags Sam off. Steve glances at Tony and is suddenly struck by the sharp resemblance is to Howard. Howard was always quick tongued, brilliant, and just this side of crude. It seems his apple has not fallen too far from his tree. If a bit louder, a bit more blunt. He tries to picture the last time he saw Howard’s smile and if it looked the same.

“So you’re Captain America, huh?” Tony’s voice breaks into his reminiscing. 

“Huh? Oh yeah. I think we sort of met earlier. You’re Tony Stark?”

Tony chuckles. “Has Jan been giving you my resume?”

“No, not really, it’s just...I knew Howard.” Steve tries not to sound wistful. He’s desperately trying not to wish for a past that is so far gone, most people only know it from faded pictures. He doesn’t want to want things he can't have. But seeing Howard’s son is kind of like seeing an old friend, which would be such a comfort right now. 

A look of surprise flitters over Tony’s face and then his teeth clench. “Yeah, well I’m not my dad,” he retorts, his tone angry and dark.

“What?” Steve has no idea what he’s said to make Tony so angry.

“You were pals with Howard right? Well, I’m not him. The late, great genius Howard Stark, visionary extraordinaire. He’s gone and _I_ am not him. Sorry to disappoint,” Tony sneers at him.

Steve feels the color leave his face and his jaw click shut. Tony might as well have hit him. It’s one thing to know that everyone you know is dead, it’s another to hear it put so bluntly. Clearly, Steve’s first impression of the Jerk was correct. No need to continue this conversation any further. 

“Well, it was nice meeting you. I need to get to my next class,” he grits out, his tone as icy as he can manage. He turns and strides down the path, not even sure if he is going in the right direction. Once he’s a reasonable distance and a few corners away, he stops, takes a few deep breaths, and pulls his schedule out of his bag. 

He is scheduled for his Modern History class now so he heads to the Timeless Archives, which appear just to be a normal library. He isn't sure what about it is “timeless,” because it doesn't look like the Carnegie libraries in Brooklyn he frequented as a kid. He sees a few other students in the library, but no one he recognizes, so he decides to keep to himself. After his disastrous conversation with Tony, he isn’t feeling particularly social.

Steve isn't sure where to go so he pulls his class info out and notices that this is another independent study. He has set hours scheduled for studying the material laid out in the syllabus, but he will only meet with his mentor--someone named Philip Coulson--once a week, on Fridays. But first he has to check in at the desk to log his hours. He heads over to the check-in desk computer and studies it. He knows he needs to scan his handprint, but he’s not entirely sure how. 

“You swipe your SHIELD ID and then you hold your hand over the handprint reader.” Steve turns to see the brunette girl from his Combat Simulation class standing behind him, waiting impatiently. 

“Hill, right?” He asks.

“Maria,” She says brusquely, grabbing the SHIELD ID clipped to him. She swipes it through the card reader and points to a flat surface for him the place his hand. He obediently complies and sees a red laser scan his hand before a beep confirms the reading. “Welcome Ste-ven Ro-gers,” a pleasant female voice intones. 

“Thanks,” Steve says as Maria brushes past him to log herself in. 

“No problem,” She responds, scanning her own handprint. “Any class that requires you to log hours has these systems to check-in. Remember to log out when you leave.” Then without another word, she walks off to do her own studying. Steve wonders if he should be more put off by her blunt nature, but he finds that he actually appreciates her efficient to-the-point manner. She doesn’t seem like the kind of person who likes small talk and at the moment he’s feeling grateful for that. 

He goes to search the library shelves for the books named in his syllabus, eventually pulling them from a dusty corner and finding a reading table in a quiet corner to settle in for his reading. He pulls _The American Pageant_ and _A People's History of the United States_ out and sees that he’s supposed to start with Chapter 35 and Chapter 16 respectively, the beginning of World War II. He feels this bizarre sense of detachment reading about events he lived through, like seeing it from a bird’s eye view in a rearview mirror. Even having lived through this time, there was so much going on that he didn’t know and things that were now being interpreted in a way he isn’t sure is right. He struggles through the section detailing the discrimination against minorities. Maybe for the people in charge and historians, the war wasn’t about fighting to protect those vulnerable groups, but it was for him. 

When he gets to the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, he closes the book with shaking hands. His plane went down in March 1945, the bombings didn’t take place until August. SHIELD had given him an overview of the end of the war and how the world had evolved in the years while he was frozen, but it had not been in depth. It’s too much to wrap his brain around, this world that has gone on without him, the good and the bad. He doesn’t know what he would have done if he had been alive, if he could have done anything to stop it. Without the benefit of being able to see the big picture, that is available only now in hindsight, maybe he would have thought it was necessary and right. He doesn't think so, but he can't be sure.

Steve glances up at the clock and realizes he’s been studying for hours and is now starving. He pulls his map back out and looks for somewhere to eat. Apparently he has three options: the cafeteria in SHIELD Headquarters, snacks at Club A, or an unnamed square plaza which has a number of food carts. He packs up his books, stows his internal turmoil, and logs out as Maria had instructed. He decides to check out the food carts. Food is always a good distraction. 

Steve walks slowly, enjoying the nice weather. He knows it won’t last, that the air will turn chilly, but he’s trying to appreciate the autumn warmth while it’s still here. “Hey Steve, wait up!” He hears a voice calling behind him. He turns to find Sam jogging to catch up with him.

“Hi Sam,” He smiles, glad to have company to help him shake his gloomy mood.

“Hey! Are you heading to the Food Court?” Sam asks, catching up and falling into step with Steve.

“Is that what the food truck plaza area is called?” 

“Well, not ‘officially,’ but yeah, that’s what we all call it. I’m heading there too. Can I join you?”

“Sure, I could use the company.” 

They round the corner to a plaza circle and Steve sees food carts offering hot dogs, pretzels, shave ice, coffee, some other things he’s never heard of. The carts are all shiny flat metal with brightly colored umbrellas. Steve watches other students swipe their SHIELD IDs to pay for their food and go to sit on stone benches that dot the plaza.

“What is shawarma?” He asks Sam, who laughs.

“A wrap with roasted meat, usually lamb. Sort of like a gyro. It’s delicious. Blame Tony for that one.” 

Steve doesn’t know what a gyro is, but he doesn’t ask. He also resists the urge to wince at the mention of Tony’s name and decides to go get a hot dog and a pretzel. Or three. He is tempted to try something from each cart, but he thinks he should pace himself. And also try not to gross out Sam with his bottomless pit of an appetite. Sam gets something called “ramen” and then waves Steve over to a bench in a shady spot. 

“So how’s your first day so far?” Sam asks, using chopsticks to lift long noodles from a bowl of soup into his mouth.

“Pretty good. Just learning the ropes.” Steve forces himself to eat slowly, but his stomach is reminding him why it’s a bad idea for super soldiers to go so long without eating.

“Actually, can I ask you a favor?” Sam asks and Steve nods, mid-hotdog chew. “Do you want to be sparring partners? We have to log at least 4 hours a week and that always goes faster with a real partner rather than fighting the bots over and over.”

“Definitely! Sounds like a plan. Just don’t take it easy on me.” Steve uses a napkin to clean up the mustard under his lip.

Sam swallows a slurp of soup broth and laughs. “I’ll try to keep up. I have a feeling you’ll outpace me, but I like a challenge.” 

The two fall into an easy silence as they eat. Steve enjoys people watching as other students come and go, getting their food, and hurrying off to class. Sam stands up and stretches. 

“Well, I have to head to class. Do you want to meet up and head to Club A later?”

“Thanks for keeping me company Sam. I actually need to go unpack my dorm now. What time should we meet?”

“I can swing by and meet you around seven. You’re in A Dorm right?”

“My paperwork says Avengers Dorm?”

“Same thing. Everything is ‘Avengers’ this and ‘Avengers’ that around here, so we just call it A Dorm. I mean, I didn’t think you were in M--sorry, I mean Maverick--Dorm. Fury usually sticks the trouble-makers in there. Anyway, seven it is. I’ll see you later!” Sam waves goodbye as he jogs off. Steve cleans up all of his post meal trash, drops it in a nearby metal trashcan, buys himself a shawarma wrap, and eats it on his walk to the dorm. The wrap is actually really good, but he swears never to tell anyone. 

The dorm is smaller than he thought it would be, only 4 stories tall, but it has a cozy feel to it with it’s red brick exterior and blue trim. There is even a seating area out front with little couches. He can also see a balcony lounge area on the third story and what looks like a rooftop terrace. The dorm across from it is a stark contrast, in a modern glass style that gives it a clean, but clinical look. It lacks all the coziness and charm of A Dorm. Steve wonders what Sam meant about “trouble-makers” being placed there.

He uses his SHIELD ID and handprint scan to get in and heads to his dorm room where he knows his boxes were dropped off yesterday. The room comes with standard honey-colored oakwood dorm furniture: a bed, a desk, a dresser, and a closet, all which currently have stacks of his boxes sitting on them. He starts unpacking and gets into a quiet rhythm, humming to himself. He finds himself wishing for a radio, but modern radio stations don’t play anything he listens to. He knows that his computer can play music and with SHIELD’s help, he’s become fairly competent with the technology, but it’s still a process and he doesn’t have the patience to figure it out right now. Instead he focuses on getting his room just how he wants it, neat and clean, everything within easy reach. A place for everything and everything in its place. 

When he’s finished, he runs a hand over his freshly made bed spread, held tight with hospital corners. Some habits are hard to break. The walls are a flat white, but he doesn’t have any posters to hang. He imagines hanging his sketches or painting a mural, but he’s not sure what he would want to see everyday. He glances at the clock on his desk. It’s still too early to meet Sam so he pulls out his sketchbook, losing himself in the familiar _scritch, scratch_ of his pencil. A knock on the door breaks his art trance. He looks at his sketchbook and realizes he has been sketching a set of warm, brown eyes, lit with an impish twinkle. He sets the book on his desk and opens his door to find Sam waiting with a bright grin. 

“You ready? Let’s do this!” 

Steve returns his smile, “Let’s go!” 

Club A is not quite what Steve imagined. He’s not sure what he imagined, but it definitely didn’t include a robot bartender. They’re sitting at the bar on round red stools, with their backs to the dance floor. The blue and yellow fairy lights strung across the ceiling give the whole place an ambient glow, except for the dance floor which has its own colored spotlights. The dance floor is a shiny red and white checkered floor, brightly distinguished from the rest of the club’s polished light wood floor. 

The crowd is thin, it must still be early. Steve isn’t really sure when normal students go out, but it’s a school night so he figures it shouldn’t be too late. He eyes the pool table in the corner, which is currently unoccupied. Steve wonders if Sam would accuse him of hustling him if Steve challenged him to a game. Calculating ricochet angles is sort of Steve’s specialty. 

“Why does this campus have so many robots?” Steve asks Sam as he raises his hand to flag the bartender down for drinks.

“Do you have a problem with my robots, Cap?” Tony asks, as he and another brunet student Steve hasn’t met yet join them at the bar. 

“It’s just unnerving. I’m more used to a friendly smile with my customer service,” Steve shrugs. He’d prefer not to get into another spat with Tony if he can help it. 

“A good looking guy like you? I’m sure you could get service with a smile from just about anyone on campus if you asked.” Tony responds with a smirk and a wink, flagging down the bartender with a wave of two fingers. Steve grits his teeth, trying not to rise to the bait. 

Sam seems to take pity on Steve because he turns to the other student, “Hey Bruce, long time no see.” Sam hands him a beer, which Steve takes with a nod of gratitude. He can’t get drunk, but he doesn’t mind the taste and it’s nice to have something in his hands. 

“Hey Sam. You know me, I’m a social butterfly,” Bruce quips, taking a sip from the bottle of fruit flavored seltzer water Tony hands him.

“Hey guys!” Jan bounces up to the bar behind them, “I’m so glad you all came! Oh wait, where’s Tasha? She should have beaten me here.” 

“There she is,” Sam replies, pointing to where Natasha is leaning against the wall by the dance floor. She seems to be nonchalantly people-watching, but she blends in so perfectly, Steve probably wouldn’t have noticed her if Sam hadn’t pointed her out. Jan bounces over to go talk to Natasha, probably to pull her over to the group. Tony and Bruce seem to be having some sort of debate, but even with his super hearing, Steve can’t hear more than a word or two over the general noise. Steve glances up to see another redhead walk in. 

“Mrs. Potts?” He asks, surprised, not really meaning to say it out loud, but Sam hears him and chuckles.

“Oh, Pepper’s here? Yeah, she’s not a student, but she hangs out with us sometimes. She’s pretty cool.”

Pepper calmly walks up to Tony and taps him on the shoulder. He turns around and gives her a beaming smile. “Hey Honey!” he says, throwing an arm around her, and pulling her closer to the bar. He waves down the bartender with his other hand to buy her a drink. She responds, but Steve doesn’t hear it. He turns to Sam instead. “Hey, you want to go play pool?”

“Sure, you’re not about to hustle me though, right?” Sam raises a skeptical eyebrow over his pint glass. 

“Well I am kind of a pro, but I bet you’ll give me a run for my money. Come on, didn’t you say you like a challenge?”

Sam grins, “This is such an obvious hustle, but count me in. Eight ball?” Steve nods as Sam downs the last of his beer and sets the glass on the bar. “You’re on.”

Steve downs his beer and follows Sam to the pool table. In the spirit of good sportsmanship, he lets Sam break first. The break is solid, sinking the 2 and the 14 which means Sam gets to pick.

“Stripes," He announces, lining up the 11 ball for a corner pocket shot. “So is this a diversion?” The 11 drops in neatly. 

“What?” Steve asks, sounding a little shrill even to his own ears. He tries not to choke on the sip of beer he had just taken.

“A diversion, right? So you don’t have to dance?” Sam asks as he sinks the 15 next. 

Steve chuckles nervously. “I don’t have a lot of experience in that department. But I do know some dances. They’re probably old fashioned now, but if you ever want to learn how to do the Charleston, let me know.” Steve glances around as he chalks his cue and notices that the club is growing more crowded. He wonders if it's usually like this or if it’s just Jan’s “social director skills” in action. He looks for her over towards the bar, but instead finds some students in yellow and black uniforms he’s never seen before talking to Tony and Bruce. Jan and Nat are on the dance floor. There is no sign of Pepper and Steve wonders if she’s left already. 

“Will do. Jan would probably like that.” Sam misses the 12 ball on a tough bank shot. “Your turn.”

Steve starts to methodically sink balls, first the 6 ball, then the 7 and the 3 in a trick shot where the cue ball’s ricochet off of the 7 ball allows it glide down the table and gently tap the 3 into the corner pocket. 

“Definitely a hustle---” Sam’s complaint is cut off by a loud crash. The sound of wood splintering cuts across the noise of the club. Steve and Sam heads jerk up to see huge green monster (man?) growing in size and roaring at the yellow and black clad boys at the bar.

“Oh no, Code Green.” Sam tosses his pool cue, running over toward the scene at the bar. Steve follows suit, pulling his shield from its case in his backpack, and chasing after him. He’s running headlong into probable danger and it’s the most comfortable he’s been all day.


	4. I Wanna Be Robotic

****

Tony POV

Tony glances at his watch. Technically, he is supposed to spend the next 3 hours working in his Stark Tower lab for his Advanced Robotics independent study class. He had planned that time for working in Rhodey’s suit and his new lab design. But it’s an independent study and he’s thinking about skipping it. 

Normally when he’s feeling frustrated like this and out of sorts, his lab is exactly where he wants to be, but right now he’s feeling restless. He decides to go bother Rhodey instead. Tony uses his Starkwatch to pull up Rhodey’s schedule. He is currently...teaching his advanced piloting course at the Quinjet Hangar. Perfect. 

 

 

On the way down to the subterranean hangar floor, he can see Rhodey through the glass elevator walls. He is standing at parade rest in front of his students, the picture of military professionalism. Or maybe military professor-ism. Whatever. 

Tony sneaks over behind him and mimics his pose, schooling his features into a stoic and serious expression. Nat looks unimpressed, Clint is smirking, Daisy looks like she’s trying to suppress a smile, and Kamala looks like she’s ready to burst into giggles. Rhodey pauses and looks them over. “He’s behind me, isn’t he?” Clint snorts. Tony can’t see it, but he thinks he can hear Rhodey roll his eyes.

“Anyway, you’re required to log 3 flight hours a week. You should have 45 hours before the end of the semester. The Academy requires 400 hours before granting you mission operative pilot status. If you have any trouble with equipment not working, harass this guy because he built it.” Rhodey jabs his thumb over his shoulder at Tony. 

“Well, I invented the technology, I didn’t build THESE quinjets in particular. And as much as I’d love to take full credit, I was building upon what the Wakandans had already designed…”

Rhodey shoots him a warning look over his shoulder before cutting him off and continuing. “I want you guys to get acquainted or reacquainted with the controls. Even if you’ve flown other kinds of aircraft, quinjets are different. So go ahead and I’ll check in with each of you shortly.” 

Rhodey sighs the long suffering sigh of someone who has put up with Tony Stark for many years, before turning to face him. “Hey Tones.”

“Rhodey! How’s my favorite army brat?”

“Air Force, not army. What are you doing here?” Rhodey checks his watch, “Aren’t you supposed to be playing with your tech toys right now? Pretty sure you’re supposed to upgrading my suit.”

“I don’t count ‘add more missiles’ as an upgrade. And I thought you could use my company. What’s with the face? Not happy to see me? Smile, smile! It takes less muscles.”

“Hey, you can never have too many missiles. What’s really up Tones?” Rhodey takes a closer look at him “And what happened to your face? Who did you piss off to get that split lip? Don’t tell me Pepper finally took a swing at you.”

“No one. Well no one directly related to the split lip anyway. Ares, possibly. But I don’t think that’s my fault. He has daddy issues, what with being Zeus’ least favorite child and all.” Tony pauses and Rhodey continues to look skeptical. “What? Didn't you ever read the Iliad?”

“It's the first day of class, Tones. Are you getting in trouble already?” Rhodey sighs and starts walking towards the control room and Tony follows.

“Never. Always. Are you coming to Club A tonight?”

“Would I risk pissing off Wasp?”

“You're known to be a man of danger.” Tony gives him a lopsided grin.

“No, I'm not. That's you Tony.” Rhodey smirks back. 

“I’ll be your man of danger anytime, Rhodey bear.”

Rhodey rolls his eyes. “Please stop.” He stops at a desk in the control room and starts leafing through some books and paperwork. Tony sits on the desk and leans over from the opposite side.

“Besides, I have to make sure I’m there to wingman for you with Natasha.”

“No, you really don’t.” Rhodey gives him a deadpan look. 

“Of course I do. What are bros for?” Tony smiles broadly and opens in arms in a mock wondering gesture. 

“I’m not testing my luck with Natasha. Unlike you, I actually value my life.” 

Tony sighs instead of responding and cranes his neck to see what Rhodey is looking at. Rhodey flips the paperwork closed and gives Tony a worried look. “What’s up with you today? You seem off.”

“I’m just jim-dandy, Jim. Speaking of not valuing my life, I need to go talk Bruce into coming tonight as per Jan’s request so I’ll see you later. Tonight right? Because you are coming?” Tony hops off the desk and heads for the door. Rhodey still looks concerned. “Is that a good idea? Banner coming to the Club?”

“I’ll be there to help keep him calm. What could go wrong?”

Rhodey sighs, “There are too many answers to that question,” but Tony is already out the door, blowing kisses as he goes. 

Tony heads to Stark Tower, knowing that he’ll find Banner in the lab he set up just for him. Besides being a creature of habit, Bruce likes to retreat into the quiet there. That and Tony hacked the student database last week so he has everyone’s schedules. 

 

 

“Brucie Bear!” Tony calls out playfully as he enters the lab. 

“Hi Tony.” Bruce looks up from his work station with a small wry smile, though his face is partially obscured by safety goggles, something Tony rarely wears. 

Tony likes Bruce. Bruce gets him. They can share a lab in quiet, if not silence, and Bruce doesn't needle at him to not get so absorbed in his work. He doesn't have to dumb himself down for Bruce. 

He knows why he likes Bruce, but he's not sure why Bruce likes him. Especially since Bruce’s whole thing is keeping a lid on his temper and angry green alter ego. And Tony isn't stupid or oblivious. He is the best person he knows at trying a person’s patience. 

Tony has been pushing people's patience to their limits and beyond since he was four. Between four and five, his precocious questions stopped being cute and moved into exasperating territory, especially when he began rewiring all the household appliances. 

But Bruce is smart. Tony has to trust that Bruce will remove himself from Tony's orbit when he approaches that limit. Not that that theory has worked so far with Pepper and Rhodey. Though...Pepper is a special case. 

Tony shakes his head, he has to stop thinking these things. He has a mission. He doesn't have time to be thinking about his Pepper hang ups. Bruce gives him a concerned look and Tony is tired of people giving him that look today. “I'm fine. Internal dialogue just got off course. What are you up to tonight?”

“Not much. I was just planning on finishing this work. Why?” He looks suspicious.

“Because Brucie baby, lately your social calendar has looked more empty and pathetic than the contents of my fridge. You should come out to Club A with me tonight.”

“Really? That’s the argument you’re going with? My lack of social life?” Bruce responds dryly, as he resumes his work, pouring out something Tony can’t identify from this distance into a graduated cylinder. 

“Come on, Jan’s asking and you know how she is. Come out and have one drink. I’ll even buy you a soda. Or organic mineral water. Or whatever it is you drink.”

“You guys do realize that it’s Monday, right? Why are we planning a big night out on a Monday?” Bruce asks as he drips some blue liquid into a flask very carefully with a pipet.

“Because Jan is fangirling over Captain America and wants to be his personal cheer squad.” Tony knows he sounds like a petulant child, but he can’t seem to help it. 

Bruce pauses, his blue neoprene gloved hand holding the pipet in midair. “Really?” He sounds intrigued.

“Yes, really. So are you coming or should I call Jan and Nat to come convince you?”

“No, it’s just…I’m surprised. Your childhood hero comes to campus and you sound like someone being forced to be nice to the aunt that pinches your cheeks. What gives?”

“I don’t really want to talk about this.” Tony snaps turning to leave, but Bruce puts his hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay. I’ll go. For an hour. Because you asked so nicely.” 

“Awesome! Now I’m gonna go get some work done in my lab. Want to head over around seven?”

Bruce flashes him a thumbs up as he turns his focus back to his experiment. Tony retreats to his own lab to work on his new designs for Rhodey and for the school lab (He refuses to refer to it as Pym’s lab). He also makes an edited version which he personally refers to as “Fury’s version.” For War Machine, he’s adding all the firepower Rhodey wants, but now he’s worried about speed. If he just…

“TONY!” Bruce waves a hand in front of his face. “Man, I’ve been calling your name for ten minutes. It’s after seven.”

Tony shakes his head to clear it. “Yeah, sorry. Let’s go.”

 

 

As they walk into Club A, they see Sam and Steve sitting on stools at the bar. Jan and Nat don’t seem to be there yet, which figures. 

“Why does this campus have so many robots?” Tony hears Steve ask as he and Bruce walk up behind them.

“Do you have a problem with my robots, Cap?” Tony asks, feigning hurt pride. 

“It’s just unnerving. I’m more used to a friendly smile with my customer service,” Steve shrugs and Tony can’t help himself.

“A good looking guy like you? I’m sure you could get service with a smile from just about anyone on campus if you asked.” Tony can’t resist the lewd joke, flagging down the bartender to order a seltzer water for Bruce and a scotch for himself. Sam just rolls his eyes at Tony and shifts the conversation. “Hey Bruce, long time no see.”

“Hey Sam. You know me, I’m a social butterfly.” Bruce quips, taking a sip from the bottle of fruit flavored seltzer water Tony hands him.

“Hey guys!” Jan bounces up to the bar behind them, “I’m so glad you all came! Oh wait, where’s Tasha? She should have beaten me here.” 

“There she is,” Sam replies, pointing to where Natasha is casually watching the other club goers. Tony knows her well enough to know that her nonchalance is an act and that she’s probably gathering blackmail material on someone or some other crazy spy business. Jan bounces over to go talk to Natasha, probably to convince her to dance. Jan is incorrigible like that. 

Tony wonders where Natasha’s sidekick archer has gotten off to. It’s always good to keep an eye on Clint, especially when you never know if he’s going to pop out of an air conditioning vent. Tony had seriously considered implanting trackers in his classmates, but he didn’t think he could get away with it. Plus it probably fell under the “expellable offenses” clause of the student code of conduct. In that same vein of thought, he's grateful that Loki and Amora don't seem to be here either. 

“So Captain America seems nice,” Bruce comments to Tony in a low tone, hiding behind his mouth behind the seltzer bottle before taking another sip. 

“Don’t start,” Tony mutters back and takes a sip of scotch and pretending to look around the club.

Bruce looks at him curiously. “You seriously don’t like him? I don’t see how this is one of those ‘Don’t meet your Heroes’ kind of things. What am I missing?”

Tony opens his mouth to respond, but then he feels a tap on his shoulder and turns to find Pepper giving him a wry half smile. 

“Hey Honey!” he says exuberantly, throwing an arm around her, and pulling her closer to the bar. As always, Pepper to the rescue.

“You know you’re still in trouble, right?” She asks, her tone playful. She is giving him a small smile with a lot of sass. He’s always liked her sass.

“Can I get out of trouble if I buy you a drink?” He responds, getting the bartender’s attention to order something.

“Nothing alcoholic. I still have some work to do.”

“Jeez Pepper, it’s after seven. Can’t you relax a little?” Tony jokes and orders her a martini. He watches Sam and Steve head over to the pool table as the bartender’s metallic hands mix up the gin and vermouth.

“That would happen more often if I didn’t have to spend so much time on paperwork for lab explosions.” She gives him a pointed arched eyebrow look, but takes a seat and accepts the drink anyway. “Hi Bruce,” Pepper turns to smile at Bruce and lifts her glass as if to toast, “It’s wonderful to see you. How on earth do you share a lab with him?”

“Hey Pepper,” Bruce smiles and returns the toast gesture with his seltzer bottle, “He spends most of the time in the lab lost in his own world so he leaves me alone mostly. It’s not so bad if you don’t mind listening to Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, or Black Sabbath at earsplitting volumes.”

“Hey, hey this is not a meeting of the Stark Ball Busters Club-” Tony protests.

“I think that club is actually Academy sanctioned,” Peppers interjects.

“And I'm pretty sure they have weekly meetings,” Bruce adds with a smile. “I think Jan is designing t-shirts.”

“-so no more ganging up on Tony. We’re here to have fun. Also, my musical taste is more diverse than that.”

“Tony, I don’t think I can even count the number of times that I’ve heard Back in Black.”

“Fair enough. I like classics! But there is some Foo Fighters, Beastie Boys, and White Stripes on that list too. Queen, Ozzy, Nine Inch Nails, that kind of thing.” He starts to hum The Hand that Feeds, snapping and nodding along to his own tune. 

“Such a dork.” Pepper rolls her eyes and finishes her drink. She sweeps her pin straight hair back over her shoulders and then stands up. “Well, it’s been lovely, but I really do have work to do. I really only stopped by because Jan asked me to. But she and Nat look busy. Tell her I said hi ok?”

“Already?” Tony isn’t whining. Or pouting. He is justifiably upset. Dismayed even. But she just gives him one of her patented Pepper smiles, kisses him on the cheek, pats him on the shoulder, and heads for the door. He resists the urge to watch her go.

Tony and Bruce watch the dance floor for a few minutes before Bruce breaks the silence. “So are you really not going to tell me…” Bruce starts, trying to pick up their earlier conversation. 

“Tony Stark?” Tony whips his head around to identify the person calling his name. He sees two guys, both dressed in matching yellow and black school uniforms with the initials A.I.M. stitched across a black crosshairs logo. He takes a closer look at the one calling his name and looks vaguely familiar, though Tony can't place him. 

“You are?”

“Aldrich Killian. We’ve met before. You mocked my research at the Swiss Bioengineering Convention last year. This is my classmate, George Tarleton” Killian answers stiffly, mouth twisted in distaste.

Tony’s memory attempts to drudge up even a hazy image of this meeting, but comes up blank. He throws his hands up, “Sorry buddy, it seems you are as forgettable as your research was probably terrible.” 

“Oh, but who could forget the great Tony Stark?” Aldrich replies mockingly, “What are you doing at this dump of a school? Did you not merit admission at the institute of unparalleled intellectualism?”

Bruce gives Tony a quizzical look. “...’unparalleled intellectualism’? What is he talking about?”

Tony rolls his eyes so hard, he’s afraid they're going to fall out of his head. “AIM, this douchecopter is talking about The AIM Institute. It's an acronym that stands for ‘Advanced Idea Mechanics,’ but it should be more like Always Immensely Mediocre. All Idiot Mouthbreathers. Or maybe Actually Incompetent Morons?”

“How about Acronyms Instead of Merit?” Bruce suggests with a small smirk. 

Tony laughs and slaps him on the shoulder. “See Bruce, this is why we're friends.” The AIM students look unamused at best, quietly seething at Tony’s jabs. Tony takes a nonchalant sip of scotch, as if he doesn't notice their ire. 

“By all means, continue with your inane jokes. Your pathetic academy is the bigger joke. Your mocking doesn't change the fact that The AIM Institute is the only force capable of leading the world into a better tomorrow,” Aldrich jeers.

Tony stands up and squares off to the jerk, ready to fight if he has to. “Yeah we get it, AIM Institute, rah rah rah. Why are you even here?”

“We’re here to invite Mr. Banner to compete in our Inaugural Super-Science fair. We’ve heard about his advanced work in gamma radiation and we’d love to see what he could _cook up_ for a science fair,” George replies.

Tony clenches his fists at his aides to resist punching this condescending asshat. “Tony, it's not worth it.” Bruce tells him quietly and then turns to the AIM students. “Thanks, but I’m not interested.”

“Oh, but I am,” Tony interjects fiercely.

“Really? We didn’t think you were really up for the challenge.” Killian smiles coldly.

“Ooh a challenge? What challenge?” Jan bounces up behind Tony and Bruce, slightly out of breath. “I like challenges. I also need a drink. Tony, can you buy me a drink?”

“Tony just volunteered to compete in the science fair at The AIM Institute,” Bruce informs her as Tony orders her a drink.

“Isn’t AIM those weird super secret science-y guys?” She asks after taking a gulp of her drink. “Then I’m definitely coming too. When is it?”

“This Friday,” George informs them, looking irritated by Jan’s characterization of AIM.

“No Jan, I don’t think this is good idea.” Bruce cautions and looks at Tony like he thinks Tony ought to fix this. Tony stubbornly ignores him and takes another sip of scotch. “I’ll be there.”

“Who designed your uniform? I love the colors, the cut is just terrible.” Jan has turned her fashion eye on the AIM students and Tony has to agree with her. Their uniforms look like bumblebee track suits, though Tony imagines that the effect is unintentional. From what he knows about AIM, they are probably meant to look like lab safety suits, which, if you ask Tony, is just as equally stupid. 

Jan walks up behind Killian and puts a hand on his shoulder. With her other hand, she runs her fingers down the arm of his jacket, checking the fabric and cut and clicking her tongue disapprovingly.

“Get off me, you vapid girl.” Aldrich jerks his arm free from her grasp, but as he does, his elbow connects with her nose. Jan lets out a small cry of pain and grabs her face. 

If you asked him, Tony could not tell you how quickly everything happened after that. It felt like everything happened both all at once and in slow motion. With Jan’s small cry of pain, he stepped forward to get to her, but was deterred as the normally calm, docile Bruce was suddenly coloring a deep vibrant green and growing exponentially in size. 

Tony tries to call to him, “No, Bruce, don't…” but is cut off by the crashing and cracking sound of the bar being splintered into pieces by a Hulk sized fist. The Hulk leans forward and roars at the two AIM students who look appropriately scared, but stand like proverbial deer in headlights. Tony snaps on his Iron Man gauntlets as Hulk starts ripping pieces of wood from the bar and throwing it at the AIM morons. Tony blasts the projectiles before they can impale their targets. 

Suddenly Sam and Steve are by his side and Steve holds up shield to deflect some debris before it hits Tony, but Tony doesn’t even have time to be grateful. Hulk hasn’t crushed the AIM students into tiny black and yellow pancakes yet, but Tony has a feeling that once he is done with the bar, they will be next. Especially since the wannabe super scientists are now pulling out some kind of high tech guns Tony has never seen before. It looks like they are going to try to fight the Hulk instead of doing the smart thing and running. Luckily, their weapons don’t seem to be working yet as they struggle with the dials and try to duck flying bar fragments. Glass bottles are crashing at their feet and spraying them all with glass and liquor.

“What’s the situation?” Steve asks Tony as Tony continues to blast away airborne wood shrapnel from embedding itself into the panicking Club goers who are attempting to flee.

“We need to get the AIM idiots out of here before Hulk smashes them. And we need to get Hulk out of here before he does anymore damage,” Tony answers. 

“I can lead him out.” Nat interjects, appearing out of nowhere like she tends to do.

“I’d fly around as a target for him to follow, but my wing is damaged,” Sam says, looking worried. 

“I can do that. I'm a smaller target anyway. I’ll fly to the track and lead him in circles. Hopefully he’ll tire out and Bruce will be able to take control again,” Jan adds.

“Ok, Jan and Natasha try to get his attention and get him out of the Club. Sam, can you help evacuate the Club? Tony and I can help herd him towards the door to follow Nat and Jan and also try to protect bystanders.” Steve assumes the leadership role so naturally, they all find themselves nodding as he speaks. “Everyone good? Ok go!”

Sam turns to the panicked crowd, some of which have ducked behind tables to hide, and starts ushering them towards the door, “Ok people, nothing to see. Let’s go, keep calm, walk don’t run, all that jazz.”

Jan shrinks into her wasp size while she and Nat try to edge their way behind Hulk. Tony and Steve plant themselves between Hulk and the AIM students, deflecting projectiles and shielding them. “You guys need to get out of here.” Steve informs them, using what Tony thinks must be his “Captain America” voice. 

“Oh so now you think you’re going to save us?” Aldrich sneers. He pushes a button on the gun he’s carrying until it makes electronic thrumming sound, like something being powered up. He smiles grimly and turns to aim at the Hulk. “Let’s see how the monster handles this.”

Tony raises his arm to repulsor blast Killian. He’s fairly certain he can blast him without killing him, but he’s 100% certain that if Killian fires that weapon, the Hulk will definitely kill him. Before Tony can get a shot off, suddenly Steve’s shield--THE Captain America shield--knocks the gun from Killian’s hands and sends it flying. The AIM dummies look stunned. Steve jumps and catches it on the rebound. “I’m pretty sure I told you to leave,” he says, staring them down. The two idiots exchange glances, grit their teeth, and then head for the door, muttering curses. “First smart thing they’ve done,” Tony mutters.

Steve and Tony turn to see that Nat and Jan have gotten behind the Hulk. Nat has activated her widow bites and gives him a little zap to get his attention. The Hulk roars and whips around to face them. 

“Come on big guy, let’s go for a walk” Nat coaxes. Jan is flying in small figure eights, in and and out of his reach, trying to capture get him to chase her. The Hulk swings for Nat, but she tumbles out of reach and his fist sending some more tables flying. Jan darts in and gives him a quick zap and then zooms towards the door. The Hulk roars again, flipping the pool table this time, and lurches after her. Steve dives in front of the flying pool table, and _catches it_ before it crushes some hiding students. Steve places it down gently on it’s side, surprisingly unscathed. Tony clicks his mouth closed, not really sure when it dropped open. He’s amazed at how much the living legend actually seems to live up to the legend.

With some work, Nat and Jan manage to lead Hulk out the door, but he takes most of the frame with him as he chases after them. With the sounds of lumbering Hulk footsteps tapering off in the distance, Tony breathes a quick sigh of relief that their plan worked. 

He turns to survey the damage and sees Steve and Sam working to right the pool table. Tony strolls over to them. “Well I guess, good job team,” he grins. But they are both looking past Tony at something behind him.

Suddenly in the wake of the chaos, Director Fury is there, black coat swaying around him and a furious grimace on his face. Tony is not even sure how he got there or when he arrived, but this is not good. Then he sees Maria standing next to him and it seems pretty clear what happened. 

“What fresh hell is this?” Fury demands, clearly exasperated. ”Now I know you all did not start destroying my campus the first week of school. Who did this?”

Without even thinking about it Tony steps forward. “It’s my fault. I got into it with some AIM students, it got a little out of control.”

Fury gives him an appraising look, clearly not believing him. “Then you’ll clean it up. Understand? Go wait outside and we’ll talk about this.”

Tony picks up a can of soda that has rolled to a stop by his foot, pops it open slowly to avoid a carbonation explosion, takes a deep drink, and then strolls outside. He leans against a tree and waits for Fury. 

Rhodey ambles up to where Tony is leaning against a tree. “Looks like I missed all the fun. What the hell happened here?” 

“Just some douchebags from A.I.M. starting shit.” Tony takes a sip of soda and kicks the tree. 

“Seriously? What did they want?” Rhodey crosses his arms.

“For Bruce to compete in their ‘super’ science fair.” Tony kicks the tree again to resist the urge to punch it. He is angry and restless and he doesn’t know what to do about it. 

“But he’s not going to, right?”

“No, but I am. I could build a robot whose sole function was to slice butter and it would still be better than anything those idiots could think up.”

“Not the point, Tone. Why go if you know it’s a trap?”

“Yeah, it is, but I’m gonna destroy them. And it’ll be easier to hack into their system if I use one of their campus computers.”

“I agree.” They turn to see Natasha emerge from the shadows and Tony has no idea how long she’s been there, listening. “I’m coming with you.”


	5. The Cavalry Captain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know. I know. I'm the bane of every fanfic lover's existence. The disappearing author of a multi-chapter fic. But, in my defense, my last year sucked. But I am back. With a new chapter! And more to come! The next 2 chapters are mostly written. So I promise, not another year long hiatus. I hope I can get into a good rhythm so I can start posting regularly. Thank you all for your kudos and comments. It's always great to see them, it is the whole reason I can't abandon this fic. Reminder that this is a super slow burn and I'm mostly writing it for fun based on AvAc. Hope you enjoy!

**Steve's POV**

Steve sprints with Sam towards the giant green man that is currently roaring his displeasure at the unknown students in black and yellow, who seem to be frozen in place. “Code Green?” Steve asks Sam, yelling to be heard over the noise.

“That green guy? That’s Banner--Bruce,” Sam answers, “He has..uhhh...a temper problem. His temper is called The Hulk.”

The Hulk has begun tearing the bar into shreds to use as projectiles that he throws at the two students that have clearly triggered his temper. Steve sees Stark blast the larger fragments before they can impale their intended targets. He doesn’t seem to see the heavy splintered beam that is coming straight towards him. Steve launches himself in front of Tony, holding up the shield to block the damage.

“What’s the situation?” Steve asks Tony as he sees the two students--they look like some kind of scientists--pull out some kind of high tech weapons. Steve isn’t sure if he should be disarming them or helping them. He focuses on deflecting thrown debris, even as what looks to be high end whiskey crashes at his feet, splashing onto his boots. 

“We need to get the AIM idiots out of here before Hulk smashes them. And we need to get Hulk out of here before he does anymore damage,” Tony answers distractedly, as he continues to blast the larger projectiles. Steve guesses that “AIM idiots” refers to the yellow-suited students in the Hulk’s line of fire.

The fiery redhead he met earlier, Natasha, seems to appear out of thin air behind them, surprising him. “I can lead him out,” she confidently asserts and Steve is inclined to believe her.

“I’d fly around as a target for him to follow, but my wing is damaged,” Sam says, looking worried. 

“I can do that. I'm a smaller target anyway. I’ll fly to the track and lead him in circles. Hopefully he’ll tire out and Bruce will be able to take control again,” Jan adds and Steve wonders how she can fly, but doesn't question it. 

Steve isn’t completely familiar with each of their respective abilities yet, but he trusts them to play to their strengths. “Ok, Jan and Natasha try to get his attention and get him out of the Club. Sam, can you help evacuate the Club? Tony and I can help herd him towards the door to follow Nat and Jan and also try to protect bystanders.” Steve is used to leading, but that was a group of soldiers who had agreed to follow him into battle; these are superpowered people--kids, really--who don’t know him very well. He isn’t certain that they will follow his lead at first, but he sees them nodding as he speaks which buoys his confidence. “Everyone good? Ok, go!”

Sam turns to the panicked crowd, some of which have ducked behind tables to hide, and starts ushering them towards the door, “Ok people, nothing to see. Let’s go, keep calm, walk don’t run, all that jazz.”

Jan shrinks down into a tiny pixie (Steve has never seen anything like it) and begins zooming around on tiny wings. She and Natasha start edging their way behind Hulk. Tony and Steve plant themselves between the Hulk and the AIM students, deflecting projectiles and shielding them. “You guys need to get out of here.” Steve tells the AIM student in his Captain America voice. He doesn’t know who they are, but he has found most people tend to comply when he breaks out the Captain America voice. 

“Oh so now you think you’re going to save us?” One of the AIM student sneers at them. He pushes a button on the gun he’s pulled out until it makes electronic thrumming sound, like something being powered up. He smiles grimly and turns to aim at the Hulk. “Let’s see how the monster handles this.”

Tony raises his hand to blast the gun, but Steve is not sure that is such a good idea, so he makes the split second decision to throw the shield. It knocks the gun away and bounces back as he jumps to catch it. “I’m pretty sure I told you to leave,” he repeats, this time adding steel to his voice. The two students exchange glances, grit their teeth, and then head for the door, mumbling curses. “First smart thing they’ve done,” He hears Tony mutter.

Steve and Tony turn to see that Natasha and Jan have gotten behind the Hulk. Nat’s black wristbands light up and spark with what looks like blue lightning. She gives the Hulk a zap with them, he roars and whips around to face her. 

“Come on big guy, let’s go for a walk,” Natasha coaxes. Pixie-sized Jan is flying in small figure eights, in and and out of his reach, trying to focus his attention and get him to chase her. The Hulk swings for Natasha, but she dives out of reach and his fist sending some more tables flying. Jan darts in and gives him a quick zap and then zooms towards the door. The Hulk roars again, flipping the pool table this time, and lurches after her. Steve sees the pool table on it’s way to crushing some hiding students so he quickly dives to catch it. He breathes a small huff of relief as he gently sets it on it’s side. At least Sam and he might be able to finish their game later after all, he thinks with a small chuckle.

With some work, Nat and Jan manage to lead Hulk out the door, but with a large crack, he takes most of the frame with him as he chases after them. 

As Steve picks up the pool table, Sam runs over to help him set it right and Tony strolls over to join them. 

“Well I guess, good job team,” he says after a pause, glancing around at the wreckage. Steve isn't sure if he’s being sarcastic. But then Director Fury walks in, looking livid, with Maria Hill trailing behind him. Steve recognizes him from their few meetings when he was staying at SHIELD headquarters, being brought up to speed on everything from the past 7 or so decades he spent in the ice. 

“What fresh hell is this?” Fury demands, clearly exasperated. ”Now I know you all did not start destroying my campus the first week of school. Who did this?”

Steve doesn't even know how to answer that question, but to his surprise, Tony speaks up before anyone else has the chance to respond. “It’s my fault. I got into it with some AIM students, it got a little out of control.” His flat tone makes it painfully obvious that he's lying, but he doesn't seem to care. Steve glances at Sam who also looks a little surprised at Tony’s impromptu confession. 

Fury just as obviously doesn't buy this confession, but doesn't seem to have the patience to interrogate further. “Then you’ll clean it up. Understand? Go wait outside and we’ll talk about this.”

Steve watches as Tony nonchalantly picks up a can of soda that has rolled to a stop by his foot. He slowly pops it open, the fizzing loud in the Club’s quiet. He takes a deep drink and then strolls outside, cool as you please. It baffles him why Tony’s taking the fall for something that seems to be an accident. Is he just trying to antagonize Fury? Why does it always seem like he’s just putting on a show?

Steve’s never been one for politics, especially when there seems to be a lot of backstory he doesn't know. But he knows he can at least lend a hand with the manual labor, so he steps forward. “Fury, sir, I can help clean up.”

Fury’s singular gaze turns from Tony’s exit to focus on Steve. “Rogers? It’s good to see you Captain. Maria is going to run point on cleanup, I leave you in her capable hands.”

“I’ll help too,” he hears Sam chime in behind him. Fury nods at them both before turning to give Maria some final directions and heads out, walking back through the giant hole that used to be a doorway. Maria organizes the few students left into a couple of groups, who get to work picking up the larger bits of debris, sweeping up the glass, righting the surviving, albeit a little battered, tables and chairs. 

Steve is lifting a couple of trash bags full of glass and wood shards when he notices Natasha re-enter the club. She heads straight to Maria, probably to give her a status update on the Hulk. They lean in close and speak in low tones so that even his serum-enhanced hearing can't pick it up. Maria gives Natasha a curt nod and starts tapping away at the tablet she's carrying. The redhead straightens up and surveys the room. She starts to head for the exit again when Sam catches up to her. 

“Oh no you don't.” Sam touches her arm as she goes to walk by, but pulls his hand back at her raised eyebrow. “Not even gonna give us an update on how Banner’s doing? That’s cold Nat!” 

The redhead’s face relaxes into a smile and she laughs. “Fair enough, Birdman, fair enough. Bruce is fine. Wasp ran him in circles until the green receded. He’s sleeping it off. I thought I’d come offer my help with the clean-up, but it seems like you boys have it all covered.” She nods toward Steve. 

“Yeah, it looks like we’re about done here.” Sam agrees, surveying the remnants of the cleanup. 

“Is Fury going to punish Stark or Banner for this?” Steve asks her.

Natasha purses her lips slightly. “No more than usual.”  
Steve doesn’t know what to do with that cryptic response. Judging by the look on Sam’s face, he doesn’t understand either. 

“Hey Steve, would you be a gentleman and walk a lady back to the dorms? It’s getting late and it’s pretty dark out there.” Natasha flips her red curls over one shoulder and leans in towards him as she speaks. She casually splays her hand on his chest and drops her tone. “Please? I would really appreciate the company.”

Steve looks, a little wide-eyed, to Sam for guidance, but he shrugs as if to say “I really don’t know, man. Women, right?” Sam looks like he wants to interject, but he and Natasha share a look that seems to change his mind. “Yeah, I’ll finish up here. You two go ahead.”

“Um, thanks Sam,” Steve says awkwardly as Nat hooks her arm through his and turns him towards the newly ripped open doorway.

As they step into the cooler night air, Steve can’t help but notice Natasha’s...proximity. She shivers slightly and keeps close to his side. Steve pulls off his jacket and offers it to her. “Here, you seem cold.”

“Oh, thank you” She smiles up at him through her lashes and takes the coat. The blue jacket with its oversized pockets and flipped collar looks huge on her, making her seem small and delicate. She pulls it close around her as they walk. Steve lets her lead the way, though he’s pretty confident that he’s memorized the way back to the dorms. 

“How was your first day? As exciting as you’d hoped?” Her head tilts toward his, her body language open and inviting.

“Definitely exciting. Not quite what I was expecting though.”

“What were you expecting?” Her tone is open, curious. 

“You know, I’m not even sure. It’s all new to me.” Steve doesn’t know why but he finds himself avoiding her gaze, glancing around the darkened expanse of the campus instead and tucking his hands in his pockets.

“You did a good job taking charge back there.” She bumps his shoulder playfully.

Steve is thankful that his ears are already pink from the cold as he flushes slightly from her praise. “I didn’t mean to impose. Old habits die hard, I suppose.”

“No, it was good. We could use some leadership,” she says thoughtfully, like she is really considering the implications of that.

“Well, we all worked together well. I’m glad we could help.” He catches himself rubbing the back of his neck. A nervous habit he can’t seem to break. 

“Well, thanks, Steve. You’re a real gentleman.” He realizes they’ve stopped in front of the Maverick Dorm and she is smiling up at him, all demure and inviting. He remembers his conversation with Sam and wonders if that means she’s a trouble-maker. “You’re welcome,” he says awkwardly, and runs his hand over the back of his neck again. Dammit, he’s got to stop doing that. It’s such an obvious tell.

“How can I thank you?” she asks, in way that sounds innocently curious, but implies anything but. She leans in close to him. So close, he can smell her perfume. Something sweet, but kinda spicy. Cinnamon maybe? He swallows hard. “I'm not sure I understand?”

Her dark red hair brushes the side of his face and for a moment he thinks she might kiss him. He is frozen in place, stunned into paralysis. But she turns her head, kisses him lightly on his cheek and leans close to his ear to whisper something. “Thanks for walking me back.” Her breath on his ear gives him goosebumps, but also makes him want to flinch away from her. He forces himself to stay stock still.

Then she gives a little laugh and steps back from him to take off his borrowed coat. “So you’re gay, huh.” She says in a way that is a statement and not a question.

Steve sputters. “Wha...what?”

She smiles, a knowing smile, not the flirty, coy smile she’s been flashing his way on this walk. “It's ok, Steve. I won't tell anyone. I just wanted to see. Thank you for walking me back.” She hands him his coat. “Have a good night.” And with that, she strides confidently into the dorm without even a glance back at him, struck dumb and standing frozen in place on the dorm walkway. 

Steve watches her leave and stays staring at the dorm doors long after they close and she’s gone. His head is whirling with questions. How does she know? Why did she test him like that?  
After a minute, he knows he should move, so he turns in the direction of his dorm. But then a thought hits him like a slap. He realizes he never denied it. 

 

Steve wakes up at 6 am, stretching in his dorm twin bed and staring at the white speckled ceiling. Another morning waking up in a strange place, something which has become unsettlingly familiar. He had spent more time last night than he’d like to admit staring at this ceiling, unable to sleep, and wondering about his walk with Natasha. He decides he’s had enough of thinking about that. He throws on his SHIELD issued athletic shorts, grabs a banana from his stash of dorm appropriate food--granola bars, peanut butter, etc.--, and heads to the stadium for his morning run. He eats his banana on the way, committing the campus to memory as he goes. He’s determined to never be lost again. Maybe he can set down some sort of roots here. At least for a little while. He doesn’t want to think about whether last night could jeopardize that.

He starts off at a jog on the half mile long track, letting his muscles warm up and stretch before he amps up his pace. Soon the easy rhythm and pleasant burn of his muscles sets in and a lot of the previous day’s tension melt away. Has it really only been a day? It feels like much longer since he had been giving himself the first day pep talk as he stared at the academy gate. In his 13th lap (halfway through his routine), he notices a ginger haired girl running on the soccer field that the track encircles. As he comes around the bend, he realizes it’s Pepper running soccer drills, suicide runs, dribbling and passing drills, her pale red ponytail bouncing behind her. He doesn’t know why it surprises him that she’s so graceful, Pepper does not seem like the kind of person to do anything half-measured, but she is so fluid with the soccer ball that he can’t help but be impressed and a little mesmerized.

He hits his 25th lap and slows to a jog before sprinting the last quarter mile, pleased with his time as he checks his watch. He walks another lap to cool down before heading to the bleachers to stretch. 

He has his hands bent behind his back when Pepper walks up to him, drinking deep from her water bottle. She gives him a little half wave. “Hi Steve, I didn’t expect to see you here,” she smiles warmly and runs a hand across her brow. She really is beautiful, all pale smooth skin, dusting of freckles, and red-gold hair. It doesn’t take a genius to see that guys would throw themselves at her probably perfect feet. 

“I always go for a morning run. Keeps me sharp,” he smiles back, twisting his left arm across his body and holding it. 

“How has it been going so far? Adjusting ok?” Her tone is all earnest curiosity, but Steve doesn’t buy it.

Yeah, nothing but peace and quiet so far,” He bats back lightly. Steve is betting that Fury has already let her know what happened at Club A. He imagines not a lot gets by her. 

“Fair enough.” She gives a little laugh. “Yesterday was kind of exciting, I’ll give you that. But not every day is like that…” She pauses for a second before her tone turns wry. “I don’t know what I’m talking about. Avengers Academy is not exactly known for its serenity. But what can you expect from a campus full of superheroes?” She shrugs and the corner of her mouth ticks up in a half smile. “I heard you helped take charge of the situation. I think we're going to need leadership like yours if the Avengers are ever going to be an actual team.”

Steve wonders who told her about the specifics of the fight. “I just did what I could to help. The others had more of a handle on the situation than I did.”

“You're modest.” She smiles warmly, but she seems to be studying him. 

“I appreciate the vote of confidence ma’am.” He hesitates for a second but decides to plunge ahead, albeit tentatively. “It would be easier if I knew what I was dealing with.” 

Pepper quirks a perfect eyebrow in response. “What are you saying Steve?”

“Nothing ma'am.” Pepper’s eyebrow hitches further and she gives him a look that says she's waiting for him to just get to the point already. 

“it's just that a briefing of the other students’ abilities would be helpful to have in case of another...incident. Or attack, if it comes to that. If word gets out about this place, we’re a bit of a target.”

She thinks it over. “You might have a point. I'll talk to Fury. Maybe Maria could give you a briefing.” 

Steve wonders if it really is that easy. He doesn’t know how much he should trust anyone here, spies aren’t actually known for their candor. But Pepper is hard to read. She seems pretty earnest, if a little foxy. There is so much he wants to know and he weighs the options in his mind before deciding to ask at least one of the questions that has been nagging him. The one she might be most likely to answer.

“I don’t know if I’m overstepping any bound here, ma’am, but….do you know why Stark is trying to take the fall for the incident yesterday?” He schools his features into a neutral expression, hoping that she doesn’t read too much into his question. 

A lightning flash of surprises flickers through Pepper’s green eyes, but is gone in an instant. She clearly didn’t expect him to ask that. She purses her lips for a moment, as if deeply considering his question. “Tony has his reasons for everything he does.” There’s a beat of silence where Steve wonders if she’s expand on her cryptic statement, but instead she keeps her features in a more neutral, pleasant expression. Maybe she doesn’t trust him either. 

“Well, I’d better get back to work. Don’t hesitate to stop by my office if you need anything else, Steve.” She smiles a practiced smile his way and he waves goodbye as she heads to the locker rooms. His thoughts wander back to the untold history that seems to be lurking behind everyone’s words. He wonders why it is that everyone he’s met so far seems to holding back secrets, but he’s not sure they are doing it intentionally. Maybe this school isn’t just for super powered humans, but also those with trust issues. Oh boy, is that a thought he doesn’t want to examine too closely, especially considering the weird goodnight with Natasha last night.

So that didn’t work. Since running didn’t help clear his head, he decides he should try another battle tested method of working through his mental clutter when he’s overwhelmed. He decides to go back to the dorm, shower, grab his sketchbook, and head to the park. 

 

The park, he finds, is surprisingly popular. He sees students eating lunch, playing games, hanging out in groups, practicing acrobatics and other...things he can’t identify. He finds a shady bench to plant himself that gives him a good view of everything going on. He enjoys people watching. He decides to sketch the two fellows who look to be lost deep in meditation by the fountain. Steve gets equally lost in just trying to get the shading of the fountain cobbles stones just right.

He’s not sure how much time has passed when a shadow falls across his page. “Why, hello there.” A girl’s haughty voice breaks his concentration and pulls him out of his reverie. Steve looks up from his sketch pad to see a beautiful girl with waist length golden blonde hair eying him appraisingly. Steve glance around to make sure it really is him that she’s talking to. “Um, hello?” He squints back, trying to see her as she is backlit by the sun. 

“You’re new here. Captain America. Surprisingly handsome. For a Midgardian.” She’s lithe and graceful, slipping onto the bench right next to him in a smooth, fluid movement, almost catlike. Her tone is confident, absolute. She’s beautiful for sure, like she’s been sculpted in marble. But the thing about her that sets Steve most on edge, is how cold her smile is. Like she might eat him if given the chance. 

“Yes ma’am, I am. I don’t believe we’ve met…?” He turns to offer her his handshake and to put some space between them. She demurely slips her hand in his, as though expecting him to kiss her knuckles. Her gaze is still sizing him up and it’s putting his teeth on edge. 

“Hmm, yes. You’ll do nicely. You even kinda remind me of a Midgardian Thor." She laughs, a tinkling wind chime laugh, and Steve suppresses a shiver at the chilly sound. He awkwardly shakes and drops her hand. “I’m sorry, but I have no idea what the last half of that sentence means.”

“Oh that’s ok.” She drops her voice low as she leans closer towards him, her green eyes glittering and her blonde hair curtains around him. “My name is Amora, but you can call me Enchantress.” The pearly white of her teeth is dazzling, almost hypnotic. 

Steve must be losing his mind. Out of the corner of his eye, he could swear he sees what looks like..green smoke spirals? But when he moves his head slightly to see, there’s nothing there. He turns back towards her, ready to apologize for being such a spaz, especially since she’s now looking at him puzzled.

“Hmm why isn’t this working? This should be working.” 

“I’m sorry ma’am, but...what isn’t working?” Steve feels as though he’s lost the plot entirely. Her eyes flare at his polite “ma’am.” Why do manners seem to annoy everyone in this modern world? 

“Are you...immune? How is that possible?” Her voice is flat, colder than before and Steve finds himself backing up even further from her, threatening to fall off of the bench.  
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know what…”

“Oh Amora, don’t you have some other poor souls to torture?” Steve looks over to see Natasha standing in front of them, arms crossed and sighing exaggeratedly. It looks like she’s come to save him and he didn’t think he’d be so happy to see her again. 

Amora’s glare could freeze lava, but she quickly morphs it into another icy smile. “What is it to you _Widow_ , if I introduce myself to our new student? 

“Oh, but Amora, you and I both know, you don’t _have_ any friends. So why don’t you practice your desperate parlor tricks on someone else?”

Amora’s look turns downright glacial as she stands to face Natasha, and now Steve knows he’s going crazy because he can see tiny green sparks flaring around her clenched fists. 

“I know you’re only this boorish because you can’t compete with me in looks, style, or love interests, but _honestly_ you should do better,” Amora sneers. 

“I’m sorry your _highness_ , but you don’t scare me. And honestly, Loki pulls off this spoiled Asgardian brat act so much better than you.” Natasha takes a step forward, menacingly crowding into Amora’s space. She drops her voice, but the softer tone makes her all the more threatening. “So why don’t you run along now, before I need to bring the Allfather into this. I doubt he would be really happy to hear about the welcome you’ve been extending to our new recruit. He would probably let me kick your ass myself and you and I both know how much I’ve been _dying_ for a chance to do that.” 

“You wouldn’t,” Amora scoffs, but she doesn’t look as sure.

Natasha sighs dramatically. “You really, really don’t want to test that theory.”

Amora huffs but doesn’t respond. Steve half expects her to say something like “Just to wait my pretty. I’ll get you and your little friend too.” She just glares daggers at both of them, flips her long golden hair over her shoulder, and storms off. 

Natasha and Steve watch her stalk off, graceful even in her fury. “I feel I should thank you for rescuing me,” Steve says warily, “But I’m not entirely sure what just happened.”

Natasha sighs and it’s the most genuine expression he’s seen from her yet. “Look, I wanted to apologize for last night. I realize I can be...abrupt.” Her eyes dart away like that was hard to say but she meets his eyes again like she wants to show she’s serious. “Your secret is safe with me. I’m not going to out you or blackmail you or anything.”

He studied her face and she seems earnest. Honestly, he still hadn’t decided how he felt about what happened last night, but he was surprisingly relieved to hear her say that. “Thanks, I appreciate that,” he tells her, his tone still wary. 

She looks like she wants to convince him, but decides not to push it. Instead, she hands him a folder. The manila folder she presses into his hand is thick with an ominous “CONFIDENTIAL” stamped across the front. 

He holds it in front of him for a second, considering. “Is this…?”

Natasha crosses her arms and leans back on her heels. “You wanted to know the basics. What our abilities are, right?”

“But Pepper said…”

“This is better than a Maria Hill briefing. Trust me.” 

“How did…?”

“It’s better if you don’t know. It’s pretty much always better if you don’t know.” She smirks like that’s an inside joke he’s not in on. “Any other questions?”

“How about, can we be friends?” He asks, looking at her closely. Natasha’s eyes widen just the tiniest bit, as if she wasn’t expecting him to ask that. “Friends. Right.” She pauses for a beat. “Believe it or not, I’ve not been the greatest at that. But...yes. Yes, we can be friends.” She gives him a side smile, the second genuine expression he’s seen grace her face. 

“Well ok.” Steve smiles back warmly and offers her his hand to shake. “Friends then.”

She laughs and shakes his hand. “Welcome to Avengers Academy, Steve Rogers.”


End file.
